A joke called life
by Quyey
Summary: After the return from Tenrou Island, life at FT goes on as usual. A strange request draws the attention: "Hunt the 'Lisznar!" While Mira, Erza and Levy are sent on mission, Lisanna finds out that it's more than a monster. What is the connection to FT?
1. Chapter 1: The Lisznar

Just a short story. I've planed five short chapters so far.

The story takes place after the seven year time skip.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

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Chapter 1: The Lisznar

[At midnight at the town Hargeon]

A fisherman walked along the shore. After visiting a bar he was on his way home. Suddenly he noticed a noise coming from the water. He looked carefully around but couldn't detect anything suspicious. A certain spot on the water, where the light of the full moon was reflected, caught his attention. It wasn't unusual that the sea was calm as it was this night but still something was weird. It wasn't just calm - the whole area seemed to be engulfed into an aura of death.

The fisherman started to have an awkward feeling and decided to leave the place and get home quickly. When he was about to go on, he suddenly heard again a noise like before. He turned carefully to the spot where the moonlight was reflected. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw a shadow emerging from the water. The fisher wanted to run away but his body didn't move an inch. With nothing but horror in his face he watched the shadow walking out of the water. It looked like a human that was completely hidden under a grey, dirty and soaked cloak. But it couldn't be a living being because it was surrounded by the smell of dead flesh.

The creature passed by the fisher who still stood there frozen. It slowly turned the head that was hidden under the cloak. Suddenly one of its eyes started to glow white. Strange noises came from the shadow: "LIIISSS-NNNAAAH!" it hissed something hardly understandable. It still looked at the fisherman but then moved on towards the town.

-…-

[Few days later at the guild Fairy Tail]

It had been a while since everyone had returned from Tenrou Island. Lisanna noticed that little by little everyone returned to his usual life: Natsu picked on Lucy (without intending to) and soon started to argue with Gray over nothing resulting into a fight. Gajeel was the next one included. Lucy and Levy tried to stop them without success. With the time every member of FT was fighting too. But it was ended finally when Erza's strawberry cake was dropped and she took out Natsu, Gray and Gajeel with a single strike.

Lisanna was amused by the whole scene but something bothered her. Thinking over the events that had occurred since her return from Edolas she felt that something was missing. Or better say someone … All the time she was focused on the things that had changed, the new guild members, the guild itself and of course the events on Tenrou Island drew all of her attention, so she wasn't able to realize it sooner. Additionally no one had ever spoken about him again or had told her what eventually had happened to him.

Hearing Mira mentioning her name, Lisanna changed her attention and saved the thought for later. She turned around to her sister who was focused on a certain request. Lisanna got curious and went over to her. "Did you just call me, Mira-nee?" she asked.

Just in this moment Mira realized Lisanna standing behind her. "Oh, Lisanna. I was too focused on a new request."

"What is it about?" Lisanna wanted to know.

"A creature, which is called 'The Lisznar', suddenly appeared at Hargeon overnight. Because the town guards weren't able to defeat or catch it, they ask mages for support." Mira explained. While listening to her sister Lisanna concluded that what she heard wasn't her name but the name of this creature. Mira continued: "I've never heard of something like that and I wonder why the request was rated S-class."

"I see." Lisanna noted. "Sounds like a monster hunt …"

"Monster Hunt?" a young man's loud voice suddenly stopped Lisanna from finishing the sentence. Lisanna and Mira turned around and found Natsu who had overheard their conversation. He was visibly exited.

"Forget it, Natsu!" the master, who had noticed the increasing attention, interrupted them. "This is an S-class mission. A few months ago a similar creature slaughtered brutally 38 members of the dark guild 'Dead Alive'. According to my information Hargeon has been evacuated and a magic barrier has been built up around the town. I have decided to create a special team to investigate this incident."

"It has slaughtered members of a dark guild?" Lisanna wondered.

"Well, if it's just a mindless monster, it wouldn't differentiate between the victims." Erza intervened. "But if the creature is that dangerous, why doesn't the Magic Council deal with this case?"

"Hm, it wasn't approved yet, that they are the same species. Additionally this kind is yet completely unknown." Master Makarov explained. "They want the guilds to gather further information about it before sending their own troops."

"And who are you going to send for this special mission?" Natsu wanted to know. He was even more fired up now. "I don't care how dangerous this whatever is. On Tenrou Island we have fought against enemies that were way stronger."

"I already told you that you won't be allowed to go." The master said determined. "Only S-ranking members will participate. Other guilds will send equally strong members as well." He then turned to Erza and Mira. "I would like to send you two on this mission."

Mira and Erza were surprised at first but then agreed by nodding.

"Please be careful, Mira-nee." Lisanna worried about her sister. "I have a bad feeling."

"You don't need to worry." Mira calmed her.

"Your safety has the highest priority." Makarov ensured. "The major aim of this mission is to gather information about the creature before fighting against it. Levy is joining you as support."

"M-me too?" Levy was surprised.

"Maybe you can identify the species with the knowledge from your books." Makarov explained why he wanted to send Levy as well. "But in any case you have to stay outside the barrier."

"Ok." Levy nodded.

-…-

[Some hours later]

The announced team had already started off towards Hargeon. Lisanna was walking through the streets of Magnolia alone. It was pretty warm outside, so she wore short clothing. Passing by a group of travelers she overheard a part of their conversation. Hearing the name 'Lisznar' again she got curious and carefully approached them.

"And you have really seen this monster?" a market-woman asked an older man standing next to her.

"Yes." the man replied. "Several nights ago it broke into my bar when I was cleaning after all guests had left. It was the second incident with the 'Lisznar'.

"Excuse me, are you people that have been evacuated from Hargeon." Lisanna interrupted them.

"Yes." the market-woman replied.

"My name is Lisanna Strauss. I'm from the magic guild Fairy Tail and we are currently investigating on the incidents with the 'Lisznar'." she explained friendly. "If you have really met with this creature, could you please give me some information about it? For example about its appearance or its behavior."

The bar owner agreed: "It was a human like being hidden under a large grey and dirty cloak. But it noises weren't human at all and it smelled terribly like putrescent flesh."

Just the description made Lisanna shuddering. Now she worried about Mira, Erza and Levy even more. "Did the creature attack you? And how did you manage to survive?" she wanted to know.

"Well, when it approached me I thought that my last hour had come. I just stood there frozen but apparently it didn't want to attack me. It just hissed some hardly understandable noises. Maybe it was my imagination but it wanted to ask me about a certain location. It permanently repeated words like 'where' and 'place' – at least it sounded that way."

Lisanna thought that this was somehow suspicious. At first she thought that the creature should be a slaughtering monster. But according to the man's story it seemed to have a mind and wouldn't kill other people randomly.

The bar owner suddenly noticed Lisanna's guild stamp on her left thigh. "Ah, th-that's it! Your stamp." he stammered.

Lisanna wondered what he was talking about.

"When the 'Lisznar' approached me, it lifted slightly its cloak revealing a part of its head. There were leftovers from a black sign on its forehead and it permanently repeated the word 'where' while pointing to the sign. I was still shocked and didn't recognize it back then. But now that I see your stamp, it almost looked the same but in a different color."

Lisanna was visibly shocked by hearing this information. Could it really be that the 'Lisznar' was a member of Fairy Tail?

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Next chapter: An unusual team


	2. Chapter 2: An unusual team

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

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_The bar owner suddenly noticed Lisanna's guild stamp on her left thigh. "Ah, th-that's it! Your stamp." he stammered._

_Lisanna wondered what he was talking about._

"_When the 'Lisznar' approached me, it lifted slightly its cloak revealing a part of its head. There were leftovers from a black sign on its forehead and it permanently repeated the word 'where' while pointing to the sign. Now that I see your stamp, it almost looks the same but in a different color."_

_Lisanna was visibly shocked by hearing this information. Could it really be that the 'Lisznar' was a member of Fairy Tail?_

Chapter 2: An unusual team

The 'Lisznar', an unidentified, human-like creature that is said to have killed 38 dark mages, had suddenly appeared at the port town Hargeon. The authorities hadn't been able to deal with it. They had decided to evacuate the town and to build up a magic barrier around it so that the monster hadn't been able to escape. They had requested the magic guilds for support. Three guilds had sent a team to investigate the incident together. Erza Scarlet and Mirajane Strauss had been chosen as S-class representatives for Fairy Tail. Levy had been chosen as well for knowledge support.

The team was soon about to arrive at Hargeon. They used a magical four wheeler because the train service into the town was broken. While Erza was driving the vehicle, Mira and Levy were sitting in the car behind her.

"I wonder who the other participants are? Do you have any idea?" Levy wanted to know turning to Mira to her right.

"I don't know the names but the other guilds that are participating in this mission are Mermaid Heel and Blue Pegasus." Mira explained. "What about you, Erza?"

"No." she simply stated.

"Mermaid Heel? I didn't know they have that powerful mages there as well." Levy wondered.

"Well, it was maybe different seven years ago. But meanwhile they have developed." Mira replied. "I've heard that one of the members is a pretty strong swordswoman who is said to be as strong as Erza."

"…" Erza listened but didn't participate much in the conversation.

After a while the vehicle decreased its speed. "We are here." Erza stated. They had finally arrived at the provisional base in front of the entrance to the town. There were several members of the Rune Knights present. They were in charge of keeping up the barrier and to control who was allowed to enter or to leave the town.

"So, the members of Fairy Tail have finally arrived." the leader of the Rune Knights approached them. He was taller and bulkier than the other members. He had long, grey hair to his shoulders and large scar over the right side of his face. On his back he carried a large double-edged sword. "My name is Kandahar Des. I'm the division commander of the magic council in charge for this mission. The other teams are already waiting." he pointed to the main tent of the camp.

The group entered the tent. Inside there were the members of Blue Pegasus' Trimen and a young woman with long, black hair who seemed to be the sole representative of Mermaid Heel.

"Erza-san, nice to meet you again." Hibiki was the first to approach them.

"So you already know each other?" Kandahar assumed.

"Not quite." the black haired woman intervened. "My name is Kagura Mikazuchi. I'm a member of Mermaid Heel."

"Nice to meet you." Erza replied. "Then let me introduce my team as well: These are Mirajane Strauss, S-class mage and Levy McGarden, who supports us with her knowledge." she pointed to the two women standing behind her. "And my name is Erza Scarlet."

"Very well, I suggest that Levy MacGarden works together with Hibiki Laytis, who is currently in charge of gathering information about our target." Kandahar proposed. "I guess you could need a break from the travel. We'll have a strategy meeting in two hours."

"But wouldn't that be too late?" Levy wondered. "I mean it would be dark before we could start the operation then."

"That's right. So far the 'Lisznar' did never show up at day. So we decided to wait with our operation until night." Hibiki explained.

The team had mixed feelings towards the idea but they finally decided to agree.

-…-

[At the same time at Magnolia]

After meeting the people from Hargeon, Lisanna returned to the guild. In the moment she was about to enter the building a large guy suddenly left it fast and didn't notice her.

"Ouch!" Lisanna was pushed back and fell to the ground.

"Sorry, I'm in a hurry." the guy apologized hastily and went away.

"How rude." Lisanna was rubbing her back. She turned around and realized that it was Gajeel who had bumped into her. She noticed that he was carrying a bag over his left shoulder.

"Gajeel, wait!" Lily was following his comrade. "The master didn't mean it that way!" he was calling after the dragonslayer who wasn't listening.

"What happened?" Lisanna wanted to know.

"Oh." Lily suddenly realized that she was there as well. "He had a dispute with the master about sending Levy on such a dangerous mission. Gajeel wanted to go after them but the master was against it and it ended in the master noting that he could go wherever he wanted if he left Fairy Tail and then …"

"So you think he's going to Hargeon?" Lisanna concluded. "I guess he likes Levy although he usually denies it." she smiled.

"Yeah. I need to stop him." Lily proceeded to follow Gajeel but suddenly realized that his arm was hold back by Lisanna. "W-what are you doing?"

"Please don't stop him." Lisanna requested the exceed. "I'm going to accompany him. I have important information to tell the team at Hargeon."

"B-but you know that the master is strictly against it. Are you sure about that?"

"It can't be helped." Lisanna sighed. "I'm pretty worried and I have the feeling that I don't have much time left."

"And what is this important information about? Don't tell me you have already found out something about the 'Lisznar'." Lily got curious.

"Well, I'm not quite sure yet." she hesitated a moment. "You certainly don't know him because you just 'recently' joined Fairy Tail. I'll explain everything later and now lets hurry." she then went after Gajeel.

Lily was confused what and who she was talking about. 'HIM?' Was she referring to the 'Lisznar'? Nevertheless he decided to follow.

-…-

[Later at Hargeon]

The time to start the operation had finally come. After agreeing on a common strategy the teams stood prepared in front of the barrier. At Kandahar's command the Rune Knights would open a small opening through the barrier for them. They decided to form four teams consisting of two members: Erza/ Kagura and Eve/ Ren were the teams in charge of tracking the creature down. Mira/Kandahar was the backup team that followed the other teams in a certain distant and was in charge of blocking the escape routes. Levy/Hibiki was the team coordinating and supporting the others with information. The main plan was to corner the creature at some point at the coastline where it couldn't escape. It was difficult to team up Kagura who would have preferred to act on her own. Luckily she respected Erza enough to agree to work together with her.

"It's not just dark, it's pitch black." Eve complained. "How are we supposed to find this monster under these circumstances?"

"Leave this to me. I'm specialized for operations in the darknes. Night Sight!" Kandahar casted his magic, that allowed everyone to see in the darkness.

"Ok, I'll upload now a street map of Hargeon into your minds." Hibiki used his Archive Magic and then handed each team a stick made of lacryma. "These are location transmitters. The magic is connected to my Archive Magic. They frequently localize your position and transfer the information to me. I can then update the map in your mind and you'll always know where the other teams are."

"Ok, if everything is prepared, we can make our move." Kandahar was the first to step towards the town.

"One more thing: I'll try to be connected to your minds via telepathy the whole time. You can call me anytime if a problem occurs and I'll inform the other teams." Hibiki explained.

"Please tell me any details of your encounters with the 'Lisznar'. I'll gather the information and try to find out what it is and how to defeat it." Levy added. "I wish you good luck and please be careful."

"Don't worry too much. Everything will work out as planned." Mira calmed the worried Levy with a smile."

"Can we start now?" Kagura intervened impatiently. "The commander is already waiting."

"Ok, then let's go." Erza headed towards the barrier. Kandahar gave the signal and the group went through a small opening into the town. Everyone had mixed feelings towards what was awaiting them.

-…-

[One hour later]

With the time the teams were getting tired. Up to now there wasn't a single evidence of the creature's presence. Erza and Kagura were getting closer to coastline and started to doubt that the 'Lisznar' was still in the town. Otherwise it apparently was avoiding to get into contact with them – as if it was hiding on purpose.

"What is that?" Kagura suddenly asked. "Maybe it's my imagination but the air smells slightly differently here."

"Now that you mention it …" Erza replied. "Witnesses have reported that the creature smells terribly. Be prepared, maybe we are getting closer to its location."

From the shadows behind them a small white light appeared and started to follow the two mages in a far distant.

Kagura suddenly stopped and turned around. But the light had disappeared in the moment right before she could detect it.

"Is something wrong?" Erza wanted to know.

"I have the feeling that we are observed." Kagura replied.

"Yeah, I've noticed it as well. It must be the 'Lisznar'." Erza commented. "But we should just go on pretending that we don't notice it. Maybe we can lure it out this way."

Kagura agreed and they went on.

From time to time the white light appeared again following them and even got closer. Erza and Kagura noticed that the air got thicker. 'Damn! I can't get a connection to Hibiki.' Erza realized worried. 'Maybe we are too far away from the camp.' She then turned to Kagura. "It looks like we have to handle it alone. I can't contact the other teams here."

"That's fine with me. By the way, it's already here." Kagura referred to the shadow behind them that has gotten pretty close now.

-…-

[At the same time in the camp]

"How is situation? Are there any signs of the 'Lisznar'?" Levy asked Hibiki.

"Nothing. I've received recent information from Team B (Eve/ Ren) and C (Mira/ Kandahar) that they have no trace of it. But I haven't had any contact to Team A for the last ten minutes. That's worrying me a bit." Hibiki and Levy then checked the last updated location and realized that they might be too far away from the camp by now.

"What shall we do now?" Levy asked. "If they have already encountered the monster, we must inform the other teams immedialtely."

"But if they haven't found it yet and the other teams leave their position, the 'Lisznar' could escape us easily and the mission fails."

"Forget the mission! The safety of the teams has highest priority!"

"I guess you are right. I'll inform the others." Hibiki finally agreed.

-…-

[At the same time at a different location outside the town]

Lisanna, Gajeel and Lily had finally arrived at Hargeon as well.

"That was close but finally we have managed to avoid the patrols around the town." Lily noted relieved.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to sneak in?" Lisanna asked. "Couldn't we just have tried to find the leader of the Rune Knights and tell him why we need to get in there?"

"There's no possibility they would let us." Gajeel replied. "In the worst case they would arrest us."

"Well, to be true, we shouldn't be here at all." Lily commented but wasn't heard by the other two.

"But how are we supposed to get in?" Lisanna slowly approached the town. "Shouldn't there be a magical barrier around it? But I can't see anything." She got closer. "Ouch!" Lisanna hit with her head against an invisible wall.

"Hey, looks like you 'found' it." the dragonslayer grinned.

"That's not funny. It hurts." Lisanna pouted. "And how get we through this?"

"We destroy it." Gajeel prepared for an attack cracking his knuckles.

* * *

Next chapter: Lost Fairy


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